First Impressions
by spaztronaut
Summary: Felicity has been in the foster care system since she was seven. At fifteen she's seen enough to know she's better off on her own. But, after being unexpectedly placed with the Queen family, she just might change her mind.
1. Chapter 1

"You have to get her out of here. I need her gone."

"I understand she can be a little difficult—"

"A little?! That little brat emptied out my bank account! I should be pressing charges!"

Felicity rolled her eyes at the yelling coming from the other room. Only adults would ask for privacy and then proceed to scream loudly enough for her to hear them anyway. She wasn't sure what more needed to be said. Her foster family didn't want her anymore and she couldn't say she wasn't eager to get out of there as well.

This stay was shorter than most, but nothing out of the ordinary for Felicity Smoak. She'd been in the system since she was seven and she'd never stayed with a family for more than six months. The month and three days she'd spent with the Ramsey's had been more than enough for her to assess things and decide she was better off anywhere else. She was always better off anywhere else.

The door opened and Mrs. Ramsey walked out, arms crossed tightly across her chest. She might have been a pretty woman at one point, but time and the scowl permanently etched across her face had taken their toll. Deep fissures marked her pale skin, making her look older than the fifty years she claimed to be, and the fifty-two years she actually was according to her online records.

A thin black woman followed her out of the kitchen, her face set equally as firm as Mrs. Ramsey's, but somehow still holding a warmth Felicity had come to expect from the woman. Emerald Johannes had been her caseworker for as long as she could remember. She wasn't much younger than Mrs. Ramsey, but her wide brown eyes and easy temperament made her seem decades younger.

She turned those wide brown eyes on Felicity where she sat slumped on the couch. The Ramsey's cat slept beside her and Felicity knew better than to accidentally wake him. She had the claw marks on her forearm to prove it.

"Get your stuff, Felicity," Emerald said, moving towards the door. "We're leaving."

Not needing to be told twice, Felicity jumped up, grabbing her backpack from the floor beside her. It was the only thing she came with and it was the only thing she'd leave with. Despite Mrs. Ramsey's assumptions, Felicity was no thief.

Emerald led her outside to an old Honda Civic in the driveway. Felicity didn't bother to look back at the house or the Ramseys, who were probably watching her from the windows. She knew at least Mrs. Ramsey would be. Probably to make sure she was really gone. That woman was a real piece of work.

"Mrs. Ramsey's exaggerating," she said, climbing into the passenger seat and buckling her seat belt.

"Did you or did you not hack into her bank account?"

Pressing her lips together, Felicity glanced away. Emerald knew her too well at this point for lying to work, and, besides, Felicity had never been very good at it.

"It was just a little money," she said at last. "Just enough to teach her a lesson. And I donated it to a good cause."

"Felicity." Her social worker sighed in exasperation. "You can't keep doing these things. You're fifteen years old now and it's only a matter of time before someone really does call the cops. You don't have the cute, rambunctious, prodigy child excuse in your pocket anymore. You could end up in jail and there won't be anything left for me to do about it."

Felicity grit her teeth, but didn't respond otherwise. She didn't want to fight with Emerald. What she wanted was to be eighteen already, to age out of the foster care system, and to never have to depend on anyone else ever again.

"Back to the group home then?" she asked, staring out the window as Emerald pulled out of the driveway.

"No, actually." She spun the wheel, turning out of the Ramseys' neighborhood and back towards Starling City. "There's a family I can place you with."

"Ugh."

Emerald cut a look toward her that made Felicity think of the phrase _'if looks could kill' _. "Don't start, Felicity. Especially not with these people."

That piqued Felicity's interest and she found herself turning toward Emerald. "Why? Who are they? Is it, like, a senator or something?"

"No, but they are very wealthy and have a lot of power in this city. So just... try to be on your best behavior and I'll find you someplace a little better suited for your… temperament."

Felicity crossed her arms. "Better suited? You don't think I can hack it with the city's rich and privileged?" She grinned, pleased with her own little joke. "Get it? _Hack _it?"

"I think I've known you nearly a decade." Emerald turned to her, a small smile playing on her lips. The first one all day. "You don't play well with others, Felicity. You especially don't play well with people like this."

"So why place me with them at all?"

Emerald sighed, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel. "Because my supervisor was in the room when I got the call from Ramsey and she's making me. I guess Moira Queen got it in her head that becoming a foster family is good for publicity. I interviewed her myself though, and she doesn't want to help a child. She seems to think it's just another one of her charities where she can show up once, throw some money and a few nice sound bites around, and be done. She doesn't understand the responsibility."

"Neither do most of the family's you've placed me with," Felicity murmured under her breath.

Emerald sighed again, cutting her a look, but didn't comment on that.

"Anyway, I'm glad it's you, in a way. You're old enough not to care about being ignored by these people for a day or two. Then, hopefully, she'll drop out of the program as soon as I move you. She'll get to tell her friends how she fostered a poor and underprivileged" —she turned to Felicity with an eye roll— "teenager for a day and I don't have to get an earful from my boss for refusing to place anyone with her."

"So what you're saying is it's actually a good thing I hacked into Mrs. Ramsey's bank account?"

A small smile turned up the corner of Emerald's mouth. "Don't push it."

###

The house Emerald pulled up in front of— Scratch that. It wasn't a house, it was a freaking castle. Like a real, honest to goodness castle. Felicity had never seen anything like it.

"This is where I'm staying?" Felicity asked, wide-eyed as she climbed out of the car.

"Only for a few days. The weekend, at most."

Emerald slammed her door shut, prompting Felicity to reach back in and grab her backpack out of the backseat, before doing the same. She hooked the bag over her shoulder and followed Emerald up to the front door.

"I told her it was an emergency placement. Short term," she said, using the door knocker to announce their arrival. She turned to Felicity with a hard look in her eyes. "You need to be on your best behavior though, Felicity. I'm not kidding. My supervisor needs us to make a good impression on this woman, okay? For me?"

Everything in Felicity revolted against the idea of kowtowing to some rich jerks just because they were… well, rich. But Emerald was pleading with her and she'd never seen her do that before. So even though it rubbed her the wrong way, she dipped her chin in a slight nod then turned just in time for a woman in a plain grey uniform to open the door.

"You must be Ms. Johannes," the woman said with a light accent and a wide smile. "Mrs. Queen is waiting for you in the sitting room."

The woman turned, motioning for them to follow her deeper into the house. Felicity's eyes darted back and forth, taking in as much as she could. She'd never in her life been anywhere so fancy. Polished marble floors, rich wooden accents, a grand staircase that twisted up to the second floor. But it didn't feel like a home and Felicity would know. She'd moved from home to home more than your average kid. Even Miss Mitchell, who made no secret of the fact that she was only fostering for the monthly checks, made her house feel somewhat homey for the kids who stayed there. This felt more like a hotel. Or maybe a museum, what with the artwork displayed everywhere. Felicity was afraid to touch anything for fear a security guard might pop out from around a corner and throw her out on her butt.

"Mrs. Queen," the uniformed woman called as they entered the sitting room. A blonde woman was seated on the couch and turned to face them with a thin smile. No doubt Moira Queen. "Ms. Johannes has arrived."

"Thank you, Raisa," Moira Queen said, each word somehow measured and imposing. She motioned to the couch across from her, another thin smile gracing her face. "Please, sit."

Emerald took the lead, sitting across from Mrs. Queen and giving Felicity a hard look to sit beside her. She did, not wanting to give Emerald another reason to be pissed at her today.

"Ms. Johannes, it's nice to see you again," the woman said, then turned to Felicity. "And you must be Felicity."

Felicity gave her own thin smile. "It's nice to meet you."

She'd been through this a hundred times. The awkward first meeting, the churning in her gut that begged her to run. Run away and find a place where she never had to fake a smile for some adult who was just going to be a passing blur in the rear view mirror of Felicity's life.

"Welcome to our home. I'm sorry the whole family isn't here to greet you. My husband, Robert, is at the office and the children are still at school. My son is around your age." She grinned again as if that were a selling point. "He's a junior at Starling Prep."

Of course he was. Starling Prep was only the best private school in the city, so why wouldn't this woman's kids go there. Felicity had been shopping around recently at her school counselor's behest. Apparently, schools like Starling Prep looked better on college applications than public school and Mr. Phillips wanted her to apply for a scholarship next year.

"Mrs. Queen, thank you for responding on such short notice. Like I said on the phone, it shouldn't be for more than a few days until I find something more permanent."

"No rush at all. We have so much, the least we can do is give back to those less fortunate."

She said that last part with a self-satisfied grin in Felicity's direction. Felicity's jaw tensed, her teeth grinding together. This woman was incredibly out of touch at best, flagrantly arrogant at worst. Glancing over, she saw Emerald's jaw tick as well.

"Well, thank you, Mrs. Queen. I'll be in touch tomorrow." She turned to Felicity, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

It was the same question she asked every time. Every time she left her at a stranger's house since she was seven years old. _You okay? _The words rattled through her head, shaking loose memories better off forgotten. Felicity shook it off and answered the same way she always had.

"I'm fine."

She wasn't anymore fine than she had been at seven, but she was used to it now. The un-fineness. The being forced to depend on strangers who didn't know her and didn't care about her. The constant ache of being alone in the world, even when she was surrounded by people.

"Call if you need anything," Emerald said softly, then smiled, stood, and left Felicity sitting in a stranger's living room.

Moira Queen smiled. "Raisa will show you to your room, dear. Do you need someone to help you with the rest of your things?"

"No, it's just this," she said, patting the backpack by her feet.

"Oh," Moira said, smile falling just a fraction. Felicity refused to let her reaction get to her. This woman had no idea what it was like in the real world. She was probably the type of person to pack five suitcases for an overnight trip, how could she possibly understand Felicity's life?

"Come, Miss Felicity," the woman in the grey uniform said from the doorway. "Your room is upstairs next to Miss Thea's."

###

Felicity stayed in her room until mid afternoon, despite Raisa offering to give her a tour of the house.

The maid was a sweet woman, Felicity had come to find in her short time speaking with her. She'd had nothing but kind things to say about the Queen kids, Oliver and Thea. And nothing bad to say about Moira or her husband Robert either. Moira Queen on the other hand hadn't made a reappearance since Felicity had been delivered to her room.

Which… wasn't surprising in the least.

Over the course of the morning she'd done her research on the Queen family. She'd hacked the Queens' wifi easily enough, granting her access to the internet. Her tablet may have been an old hand me down from a former foster family, but Felicity had upgraded it well enough that it could handle all of her needs.

From what she'd found out, Moira was pretty much exactly what Emerald had described in the car: a woman with too much time and money who spent her days making herself feel important by donating to endless charities. Robert Queen was the CEO of Queen Consolidated, something Felicity had already known just by way of keeping up on Wired. Oliver Queen, the oldest child, was sixteen with abysmal grades in both algebra and science. The youngest, Thea, was only ten and Felicity hadn't dug much deeper on her then the few pictures she'd found when searching the family.

Around four o'clock she decided that no matter how nice the room was—and oh man was it nice. Large with its own private bathroom, something Felicity had never experienced before, and a bed so soft she'd actually dozed off for a few minutes while researching—she needed to look around.

The house was quiet as she stepped out into the hallway, despite the fact that the Queen kids must be home from school already. Though, it was probably a large enough house that the family could go days without seeing each other if they wanted. Felicity, wielding her trusty tablet, made her way downstairs to see if she could find the kitchen.

Five minutes later she was really starting to regret not letting Raisa give her that tour.

"Hey!"

Felicity jumped, her sneakers squeaking loudly on the shiny marble as she turned on her heel to see a boy, eyebrows raised, standing behind her. Her hand flew to her chest and she blew out a breath to try to calm her racing heart.

"Give a girl a little warning next time, jeez."

The boy was still standing there, looking at her like she had two heads. Even if Felicity hadn't seen pictures of him while researching the family, she'd recognize him as Oliver Queen in a heartbeat. There was just something about him that screamed rich and entitled.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He was still wearing his school uniform, a white button down underneath a blue blazer, a red Starling Prep insignia on the right breast.

She supposed he was cute in a preppy, rich kid kind of way.

"Look," he said, stepping closer, "I don't know how you got in here and I'm flattered, I really am, but I'm not interested, alright? So why don't you get out of here before my mom sees you."

Was he… Was he actually accusing her of breaking into his house to see _him _?

"Wow. Arrogance runs in the family, I see," she deadpanned, waving her tablet in his direction.

"Huh?" he muttered intelligently as his brows furrowed over his pretty, but vapid blue eyes.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm Felicity. I'm staying here for a couple of days. Your mom didn't tell you?"

He watched her for another moment before something clicked and recognition lit his face. "Oh, you're the foster girl." He gave her a slow once over before meeting her eyes. "I thought you'd be younger."

Gritting her teeth behind a smile, Felicity shrugged and changed the subject. She really was getting hungry and the last thing she needed was hanger making its way into this conversation. "I was looking for the kitchen."

"Wrong hallway." Oliver nodded behind him, back the way she'd come. "Follow me. I'll show you."

"I think I can manage." She pushed passed him, moving in the direction he'd indicated. "Thanks."

She did manage to find the kitchen — this "house" was a labyrinth — only to have Raisa tell her dinner would be ready shortly. The woman did set her up with a nice array of snacks to tide her over, though. She spent the better part of an hour munching on grapes and crackers while watching Raisa cook. Stirring pots, checking the oven, cutting and chopping and dicing and slicing.

Felicity usually kept her distance from the families she stayed with. When she was younger she'd made the mistake of getting attached. It never worked out for her. But Raisa wasn't a part of the Queen family, she was an employee, and employee's were fair game, so she found herself asking questions as the woman cooked. Just mindless things, the occasional explanation for something she was doing. Raisa seemed more than happy to share. All in all, Felicity found it wasn't too bad here. She just hoped her luck kept up and she didn't have to interact too much with the actual family.

Her luck held until Moira walked into the room, asking Raisa about dinner. She smiled that thin smile when she noticed Felicity at the counter.

"Was your room to your liking?" she asked pleasantly enough.

"Yes," Felicity said, wiping cracker crumbs off her fingertips. "It's very nice, thank you."

Moira stood quietly for a moment, either silently judging her or looking for a topic to keep the conversation going. "We'll be having dinner in the dining room tonight. We're not always so formal. My husband and I are often busy, and Oliver is rarely home these days." She put on a chagrined little smile as if to say 'Teenagers. What are you gonna do?' "But since it's your first night, I thought it would be nice."

Felicity smiled politely and thanked her again. Another awkward silence fell over them and this time she felt a little bad. Moira was being perfectly nice. It wasn't her fault that Felicity had been through this song and dance a hundred times.

"Mrs. Queen?" she said, just as Moira was about to leave. The woman turned to face her and Felicity gave her a small smile. "Thank you for letting me stay here."

For the first time, a genuine—small, but certainly genuine—smile crossed Moira's face. "You're welcome."


	2. Chapter 2

The dining room, it turned out, was the fanciest room Felicity had ever been in.

Seriously. The moment she saw it she felt the inexplicable need to go put on something nicer than her jeans and sneakers. Not that she had much nicer.

The table was huge, with enough seating for ten, even though there were only four of them. Well, five including Felicity. The place settings were ornate and, she suspected, more expensive than they had any right to be. It reminded her of some sort of fairytale.

The Queen kids took their seats at the table, Thea beside her mother and Oliver across from her, leaving Felicity to take the empty seat beside him. Robert Queen took the seat at the head of the table, directly to her right.

Up until that very moment Felicity hadn't thought much about living in the same house as the man, but now, sitting beside him at the dinner table, she was practically buzzing with questions she wanted to ask. It wasn't everyday she was within spitting distance of the CEO of one of the biggest tech companies in the country.

Instead, she bit her lip and took a sip of water from her fancy crystal goblet. The motion seemed to capture the younger Queen's attention and Thea turned sharp brown eyes in her direction.

"So you're staying with us 'cause you don't have a house of your own?" Thea asked as Raisa served the salad. "Why don't you just live with your parents?"

"Thea!" Oliver hissed, glaring at his little sister from across the table. "Shut up."

"Oliver, don't tell your sister to shut up," Moira said calmly, before turning to Thea. "Sweetheart, that's a rude question to ask. Use your manners and apologize to Felicity."

Thea didn't look chastised at all, instead she rolled her eyes and muttered a half hearted, "Sorry," in Felicity's direction.

"It's okay." Felicity shrugged. She was used to such blunt questioning by the younger kids. "And the answer is because my parents aren't around for me to live with."

"Why not?"

"Because my mom…" She paused, just long enough for Robert to start to tell her she didn't have to answer, but Felicity waved him off. She needed to say it. It was only hard because she didn't say it more often. "My mom died when I was very young. Younger than you. And my dad couldn't take care of me."

Thea watched her with wide eyes, before blowing out her cheeks. "That sucks."

Felicity couldn't help but smile. "It does suck. But I get to meet really cool people from time to time, so it's not too bad."

Thea smiled at that, but it quickly melted into a confused frown. "But does that mean that no one loves you?"

That… that was a new one and Felicity's chest ached at the question. It felt like this string bean of a girl had just punched her with everything she was worth. It knocked the wind out of her. She heard Moira and Robert scolding Thea, even Oliver chimed in, but all she could hear was her heart beating in her ears.

And the sound of the little voice in her head that had been thinking the same thing since she was a kid.

Because she worried about that exact thing. All of the time. Sure, Emerald cared about her, but it wasn't love. Not really. Not the way a family is supposed to love you. When she was younger she often wished Emerald would adopt her. She was the only reliable adult in her life, of course she had. But as she got older she realized that that wasn't how things worked. And it was okay. Felicity was strong. She didn't need anyone to love her.

But if that were true why did hearing someone say it out loud hurt so much?

"Do you have school tomorrow, Felicity?" Moira asked, changing the subject, and Felicity was grateful. School was a subject she could handle. She loved school.

"Well, it is a Friday so… Yeah. They'll send a bus to pick me up."

"Oh no! No, no. Oliver will take you. I'll call Ms. Johannes and let her know."

"Oh… no," Felicity said, her eyes darting between Moira and Oliver. "He doesn't have to."

"It's fine." Oliver didn't look pleased, but he didn't look entirely put out either. Felicity wasn't sure what to make of his reaction. "You go to Washington High, right?"

"Yeah."

"It's on the way. I can drop you off."

Felicity gave him a slightly forced smile. "Thanks."

Truthfully, she'd prefer the time to herself on the bus, but it was a nice gesture and Felicity was supposed to make a good impression on these people. That meant she couldn't go completely antisocial on her first day.

Dinner progressed uneventfully. Thea asked a few more questions, but thankfully they were of the _what's your favorite movie_ variety. Robert Queen asked a couple questions about school and her plans for college—_Transferring to Starling Prep next year and then, hopefully, MIT after that_—but, for the most part the Queens talked amongst themselves. Moira went on about her day, while Robert talked about some men he played golf with. Oliver mentioned something about a party, but mostly kept to himself, pushing his vegetables around his plate. Thea, on the other hand, wouldn't stop talking. The girl prattled on about anything and everything, but Felicity didn't mind, especially since it meant the attention was off her.

By the time they'd finished dessert—Raisa had actually brought out sundaes for the whole family—Felicity was certain that a few days with these people wouldn't be so bad. They might be entitled and self-absorbed, but they weren't openly hostile to her the way Mrs. Ramsey had been. They'd actually been pretty nice.

She was halfway to her room, and dreaming about snuggling up in that incredible bed, when she noticed hurried footsteps behind her. She turned to see Oliver taking the stairs two at a time. He'd changed out of his Starling Prep uniform and into a light blue sweater for dinner. She tried really hard not to notice how it brought out his eyes.

Especially since he was probably about to rescind his offer to drive her to school now that his parents weren't around.

"Hey." He reached up, cupping the back of his neck. "I just wanted to say, you know, sorry. For being an asshole earlier."

That was the absolute last thing she had expected him to say, but she shrugged off any shock she felt quickly enough. "I've dealt with worse on a first day with a new family."

His lips pressed together. "Sorry."

"Yeah, you already said that," she said with a tilt of her head.

"No." He shook his head. "I mean, I'm sorry you have to put up with things like that. And about what my sister said before."

That gut wrenching feeling was back, but she fought through it.

"Don't worry about it. Kids are always brutally honest. One of the foster kids I lived with for a while—he was like five, I think—he told me I should smile with my mouth closed to hide my big teeth. Still get subconscious about that from time to time."

Oliver stared at her like he wasn't sure what to say to that. Now that was a reaction she was used to. At least this time it wasn't because she'd accidentally put her foot in her mouth.

"I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast tomorrow." When Felicity just looked at him blankly, he added, "So I can take you to school."

"Oh." She shook her head. "You don't have to if you don't—"

"Fe-li-ci-ty."

He drew her name out just like that. _Fe-li-ci-ty_. She'd never heard anyone pronounce it quite that way before and it stopped her in her tracks.

"I don't mind. Really."

And the thing was, she believed him. A small smile tugged up one side of his lips and she glanced away for fear she might start blushing. He really was way too attractive for his own good.

And for hers.

"So I'll see you in the morning?"

"Sure," she said with a shrug.

"Okay, then." He looked down, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Their eyes met and Felicity knew she was staring. She knew she needed to turn around and go to her room. She wanted to, but for some reason Oliver's eyes—those pretty blue eyes—had her mesmerized. It wasn't until a barrage of noise on the stairs caught her attention that they broke eye contact, both turning to see Thea stomping her way up to them, a wicked gleam in her eyes.

"Ooh! Felicity's blushing! What did you say to her, Ollie?"

Oliver turned to glare at his sister and Felicity took the opportunity to slip off back to her room.

Felicity was a genius. Like, a full on Mensa level genius. She'd been tested back in elementary school when her teachers noticed she was always bored in class. So, as a genius, she was smart enough to know that developing a crush on Oliver Queen was a bad idea. For so many reasons.

It was a good thing she had zero interest in him then, even if he was the prettiest boy she'd ever seen in real life.

###

Breakfast in the Queen house was something else.

Eggs and bagels and juice as far as the eye could see. For a moment, when she walked into the room, she thought they were just making a big deal for her sake, but then Oliver had come in behind her, grabbing a plate full of bacon and eggs like it was completely normal to have a full on continental breakfast in your kitchen every morning.

The perks of being a billionaire, she supposed.

Thea trudged in a few minutes later, looking grumpy and tired. She kept to herself and Felicity was grateful. She liked the girl well enough, she just wasn't much of a morning person. Oliver had his head buried in his plate, so it was relatively quiet until Robert came down the stairs as they were finishing up.

"You kids ready for school?" Robert asked. Clearly he was a morning person. His kids just groaned in his direction. "Felicity?"

"Huh?"

He smiled gently. "You ready for school? Do you need anything? Lunch money or…?"

"Oh! Oh, no, thank you. I'm fine."

Her cheeks heated at his question. She didn't like to take charity from people, and the idea of taking it from him? Someone she respected and admired?

Mortifying.

Robert nodded then turned to put together his plate.

"You ready?" Oliver asked, catching her attention.

She nodded and began taking her dishes over to the sink.

"Oh, sweetheart, don't worry about that," Moira said, coming into the room. She looked just as perfectly coiffed as ever, even at 7am. "The staff will take care of it."

The staff. Right.

Felicity felt kind of bad about leaving her dirty dishes on the table for a maid to clean, but when in Rome. She scooped her backpack off the floor and swung it over her shoulder.

"Ready," she said, then followed Oliver out to his car.

###

They pulled up in front of Washington High at precisely 7:30. There were groups of kids meandering inside, heading to their lockers before home room, and Felicity reached for her backpack, preparing to join them.

"So, I'll pick you up after school?"

She shook her head. "No, it's alright. I have work, so I'll just… get an Uber or something."

She didn't really want to spend the little money she had on Uber-ing back and forth to the Queen's house, but it was only for the weekend. She'd be fine.

"Where do you work?"

"Tech Village. It's over on 14th."

"Do you usually Uber?"

"No, I usually take the bus. Not a whole lot of bus stops in your neighborhood, though."

Oliver sighed, then shifted in his seat to pull his phone out of his back pocket. "Look," he said, unlocking the device. "I'm going to a party in the city later. I'll text you the address and you can meet me there when you get out of work, okay?"

"Oliver…"

"Will you just let me help you?"

"I don't need your help!"

"I don't think you do! But I'm offering it anyway, so just give me your number. Or else I'll keep bugging you until you do and by then we'll both be late for class."

Felicity huffed, eyes rolling, but she rattled off her number just to get him to shut up. Oliver seemed pleased, tucking his phone back into his pocket with a smug grin on his face. A moment later her phone buzzed and she pulled it out, reading the message that had popped up on the screen.

_Wise choice._

She glared at him and reached for the door handle.

"I'll see you later," he said with a smile, completely ignoring her bad mood. One that he put her in by being so… so stubborn.

Shouldering her backpack, she slammed his car door and followed the stream of students into the school.

She didn't know why he kept trying to help her. Like she'd said, she didn't need his help. She'd gotten along just fine up until now. And she was only staying with his family for the weekend. It would be completely ridiculous for her to let him chauffeur her around everywhere. It was completely ridiculous that he was even offering.

Maybe his parents had put him up to it. She'd have to make sure to let them know she could take care of herself. All she needed was a place to stay since she legally wasn't old enough to get a place of her own. If these people wanted to play white knight, they could do it with someone else.

###

By the time Felicity had finished up her shift at Tech Village, she was so tired she'd nearly forgotten about Oliver's offer to drive her home.

She pulled out her phone, tapping on the address he'd sent earlier. She was in no mood to go to a party and had half a mind to just order herself an Uber. Instead, she caught a bus, then walked two blocks until she found the right building. It was big and glass and had a doorman that gave her a funny look as she entered the lobby.

_Hey. I'm downstairs._

She sent off the message, then waited by a fountain—an actual fountain—near the elevators. Hopefully, he'd just meet her in the lobby and she could go home and crawl into that incredible bed and sleep for the next eight hours.

That bed was going to be hard to give up come Monday.

Her phone buzzed and she glanced down to see Oliver's message.

_Come on up. It's the penthouse._

Of course it was.

She looked down at her bright blue Tech Village polo and khaki pants, wondering what his friends were going to think of her. With a sigh she made her way into the elevator and swung her backpack around to find the sweater she'd been wearing earlier. She wasn't about to change back into her jeans in an elevator, but at least she wouldn't look like she was there to fix the WiFi.

When the elevator doors opened Oliver was waiting for her with a smile.

"Good day at work?" he teased.

"That is not work. It is a soul crushing exercise in misery masquerading as work."

Oliver shook his head, and amused smile playing on his lips, then nodded behind him. "We'll leave in a minute, but you should come meet some of my friends first."

She wanted to decline, too tired to make small talk, but he was already moving back into the apartment. She chased after him, hoping this wasn't some kind of Carrie situation and she was about to get pig's blood dumped all over her head while his friends laughed.

He led her through a scattering of kids drinking beer and eating pizza. It almost seemed like a typical high school party, except for the literal million dollar view of the city out of the floor to ceiling windows. Two girls and a guy were seated on the living room couch, talking and laughing with one another. The guy grinned when he noticed Oliver.

"Hey, I thought you were leaving?"

"Yeah," Oliver said, then turned to make sure she was behind him. "I just wanted to introduce you guys to my friend Felicity."

The girls shared a look that made Felicity want to blush, but the guy shot her a kind smile and a wave.

"Felicity, this is Tommy, my best friend." Oliver gestured to the guy, then to the girls. "And this is Laurel and McKenna."

Laurel shot her a stiff smile that told Felicity she was definitely not welcome. She had a feeling it had less to do with her, though, and more with the look Laurel was giving Oliver. Not that he seemed to notice. He was already waving over someone else to introduce her to.

"Caitlin! Caitlin, come here and meet Felicity."

The girl he waved over had dark hair and a warm smile that instantly made Felicity feel at ease in a way the other girls didn't.

"Felicity, hi!" She reached a hand out for Felicity to shake. "I'm Caitlin Snow."

"Felicity Smoak," she said, taking Caitlin's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," she chirped, her bright smile looking completely genuine in a way Felicity hadn't really expected. "Oliver said he had a friend stopping by. So you're staying with the Queen's?"

Felicity's mouth opened in surprise, wondering what exactly Oliver had said to these people. By the look on Laurel's face it was just enough to get her in trouble.

"Yeah. For the weekend, at least." There, that was the truth without confirming or denying anything.

"So how do you know Oliver?"

That was McKenna, and at first Felicity thought it was a leading question. Trying to get her to reveal something they could laugh at her for. But when Felicity turned towards the girl she seemed genuinely curious.

"Oh, I…" She shot a glance towards Oliver who quickly noticed her discomfort.

"She's a friend of the family," he supplied easily. "She might be going to Starling Prep with us next year so I figured I'd introduce her."

"Really?" Caitlin grinned. "If you do, let me know. I can give you the tour!"

Oliver leaned over, stage whispering in her ear. "Caitlin's a nerd. Like you. You two will get along."

Felicity shot him a glare, but it lacked any actual venom. He introduced her to his friends so she'd know people when she transferred schools. That was… incredibly nice.

"Felicity's into computers," Oliver informed Caitlin, much to Felicity's surprise. "You and Cisco are in that computer club, right?"

Caitlin perked up at that. "Oh, if you transfer you have to join! So far it's only a few of us, but if we get some more members there are a couple of programming competitions we can enter. Cisco's been teaching me some, but I'm still not good enough for that sort of thing."

"That sounds amazing. And it isn't very hard once you get the hang of it. I can give you a few tips if you want."

Caitlin agreed and they exchanged contact information so they could set something up. All the while Oliver was standing beside her looking mighty proud of himself. Normally, she'd find that annoying, but, well… He, maybe, deserved to be proud of himself. She really liked Caitlin already and was now even more excited to transfer schools.

After a few more minutes of small talk, Caitlin got called away by another guest, but not before promising to text her soon.

"You ready to go?" Oliver asked, quietly.

Felicity nodded and Oliver turned to say goodbye to his other friends, who had gone back to talking amongst themselves while they'd been distracted with Caitlin. Then he led her through the penthouse and back to the elevator.

"Thank you," she said as they started their descent to the lobby. "For introducing me to your friends. They seem nice."

Oliver nodded. "Tommy and McKenna are great. Laurel can be a little—"

"Jealous?"

Oliver ran a hand over the back of his neck. "Yeah. You'll like her once you get to know her though."

She ignored the way he said that. Like he was already planning for her to hang out with his friends again. "She your girlfriend?"

"No."

"But she wants to be?"

He glanced down at his feet.

"Yeah, but she's, uh… I don't know. I've known her forever." He shrugged like that said it all. It didn't, but it wasn't really any of her business. "I mostly just wanted you to meet Caitlin. She was my lab partner last year, and she used to talk about all this computer stuff her and her friends were into."

"Yeah, how'd you know I was into computers?"

"You mentioned it." He shrugged, looking slightly embarrassed. "When my dad asked you about your classes. You said you were taking programming. It reminded me of Caitlin and when you said you were transferring…" He shrugged again. "I don't know, I thought you might like her."

She watched him for a long moment as he shuffled his feet, avoiding eye contact. "You're not really who I thought you'd be."

He glanced up, his cheeks the slightest shade of pink as he did. For a moment, she was sure he was going to say something, but then the doors slid open to the lobby and he shook his head, gesturing for her to go first.

He told her all about Starling Prep as they drove to the mansion and, for the first time in awhile, she felt… content.


End file.
